Mewhort, who was entering his fifth season with the Indianapolis Colts, announced last week he was retiring because of persistent knee injuries. He played 15 games over the past two seasons after playing 30 his first two years in the league.

"My number one thing is that I always want to do my part for my team," he said. "I got to a point to where I wasn’t going to be able to hold up my end of the bargain next to those guys, and I didn’t want to go out there and not be able to do that."

Mewhort, a 26-year-old who grew up a Detroit Lions fan in far northwest Ohio, came to the Colts as a second-round draft pick in 2014 from Ohio State.

"One of the best days of my life was being in that facility for the first time and getting to go to work," Mewhort said.

"I’m just excited about life," he said. "When you don’t have to put that mental energy into how you’re going to get through the day physically, you have a lot more energy to hop out of bed and get more done."